Plénitude - Cheval Blanc Paris

75001 PARIS

19/20
Exceptional Restaurant

10 PHOTOS

Chef Arnaud Donckele

Cooking French | Gastronomic | Signature cuisine

Price Indicative price per person (excl. drinks)

445€ à 480€

Gault&Millau's review

19/20

Exceptional Restaurant What's a cool palace? It sounds like an oxymoron. When you think of a palace, you think of engrossed staff, constantly on hand to take care of you, intervening as soon as you lift a buttock, table ceremony and customary recitation, doctrinaire and peremptory opinions from the sommelier, tense smiles and so on... In short, boredom and tension. And yet, after three years of Cheval Blanc at the top of the gastronomic hierarchy, Plénitude is slowly beginning to break away from these dictates and achieve a breathable atmosphere. All the codes are respected, of course, for one of the finest services in Paris, but there's life and a desire to share in this beautiful rotunda room. There's the ease with which Alexandre runs the dining room, the benevolent attention of head sommelier Emmanuel Cadieu, and the stunning naturalness of young staff like Emma and Marion, who all seem to be genuinely involved in your dining pleasure. None of this would exist if the captain of this enchanted cruise weren't Arnaud Donckele. He communicates to his teams, led by his chef Clément and the entire brigade, the emotion and even the love that everyone must feel and share. This is also what Arnaud's haute cuisine is all about, a vibrant message for the human chain that leads to the plate, the great family of producers, winemakers, ceramists, breeders, fishermen, commis, chefs de partie, chefs de rang who, through their combined efforts, offer a unique evening of celebration. It's all evident on the plate, with the precision of the watch, the magnificent sauces that are invented and reinvented with each dish, the harmony of tastes, all linked by the zest of humanity and the offering of the great Norman chef. The clever rabbit runs through the fields, finds a few chanterelles and the finest green beans from the garden with the "persifleuse" vinaigrette, the fruit of an enormous amount of work with smoked bacon, lovage, sorrel, cive with flower vinegar and rosemary on a rabbit consommé; pine morel works wonders on sole and watercress with this "wooded fountain" fumet, haliotis juice, maceron berry, morel essence and other secrets, and celery passion mallard sounds the first hunts, with a "gabion" salmis, savory and tagetes infusion, passion reduction, gin, "confidential" vinegar, juniper olive oil, blood liaison, voatsipériféry pepper.... Everything is so subtly measured and meticulously prepared that you can imagine the clinical machinery and countless repetitions required to achieve this perfection, which remains human. Maxime Frédéric, the pastry chef, is on hand for the final touch, with airy, tasty, enticing desserts. He, too, has a sparkling eye when presenting his dishes, adding gourmandise to an alluring tableau, like the affective Normandy that also recalls his mother region, a delicious concentration of apple with its "baume du verger", quince essence, cinnamon and fresh apple grated. A precise, cutting-edge cellar that enables enlightened wine-lovers to treat themselves to a "big keel", as well as those who want to discover, with Emmanuel's advice, horizons near and far, with bottles starting at €55.

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